I'm constantly amazed at just how much my training is influenced by the people on this site. Whether you're looking for a new piece of equipment, an unusual exercise variation or just an idea of how others approach things, you'll enjoy these :

• Gem From The Vault : Addressing Weaknesses in The Squat
  Rick Walker
  Knees caving in? Falling forward?

  
  

• Looking At : Jan 5, 2014
  Scott Andrew Bird
  What's been going on this week? Quite a lot actually.

  
  

Over to you. I'd love to hear what you think : leave your comments on the above articles, and share them with your friends/colleagues/clients and so on.
NB : If you're keen to do more writing in 2014 and would like to submit your own piece for Straight to the Bar, here's how.

Video : The Samurai

Interesting combination. And yes, it's much harder than it looks.

Gymchat 230 - World's Strongest Disabled Man

Jeff King.

In the Gymchat this week we'll be talking to Strength Athlete and Personal Trainer Jeff King. About strength athletics in general, and competitions such as the World's Strongest Disabled Man.

Joining him is fellow Strength Athlete and Personal Trainer Josh Hewett. If you've got questions/comments for Jeff or Josh, just swing by the event page for this Gymchat (during the discussion itself). Details below.

Details -

Who : Strength Athletes and Personal Trainers Jeff King and Josh Hewett
Topic : World's Strongest Disabled Man
When : Wednesday Jan 8, 9pm EDT (the Event page shows what time that is in your local timezone)
How : Watch the live stream, and ask questions, directly on the Event page. We'll also post the full video shortly after the Gymchat.

See you there.

Ben McLaughlin.

If you missed the live stream (or just want to go over a particular point again), you can watch the entire video here.

Tip of the Week: How to Fix Your Shoulders

Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via Twitter, Google+, the blog; and now the newsletter. Wherever you are, there's always a way to improve what you're doing.

This tip is from Josh Hewett's excellent 'Bulletproof Your Body' series. The 'right' way to fix up your shoulders.

Over to Josh :

The pain and other problems of the forward head are sometimes referred to collectively as "Upper Crossed Syndrome". But just because it's called a syndrome doesn't mean it's a disease or structural problem you have to accept and live with. It is simply mechanical pain from poor slouching posture, and can be fixed.

Here are some exercises you can start incorporating on a daily basis (or whenever you have time). I also suggest you use some of them as a warm up before your upper body workouts:

Good stuff. Note that this is only a snippet from the full piece - swing by Josh' blog for the entire article. A great read.

Checking Out : HyperWear Weight Vests

HyperWear Weight Vests.

A friend of mine is currently considering a weighted vest of some sort, most likely something similar to the one pictured. If you're in the same boat, you'll be very pleased to hear that the HyperWear ones are currently on sale : just enter the code HYPERJAN at checkout, and get a tidy 10% off orders over $100.

Good stuff.

Rather than trying to explain how it works, here it is in action :

Good stuff Bret, looks great.

I'm constantly amazed at just how much my training is influenced by the people on this site. Whether you're looking for a new piece of equipment, an unusual exercise variation or just an idea of how others approach things, you'll enjoy these :

• Gem From The Vault : Starting Your Fitness Journey - 10 Things to Consider
  Scott Andrew Bird
  Ready to transform yourself? Perfect.

  
  

• Looking At : Dec 29, 2013
  Scott Andrew Bird
  What's been going on this week? Quite a lot actually.

  
  

Over to you. I'd love to hear what you think : leave your comments on the above articles, and share them with your friends/colleagues/clients and so on.
NB : If you're keen to do more writing in 2014 and would like to submit your own piece for Straight to the Bar, here's how.

Video : How to Heavy Bench Press Safely Without A Spotter

Nice one Jorrell.

Gymchats in 2014

Josh Hewett.

In the meantime, check out some of the fantastic discussions we held in 2013. There's a full list here.

Ben McLaughlin.

If you missed the live stream (or just want to go over a particular point again), you can watch the entire video here.

Tip of the Week: How to Fix Your Back

Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via Twitter, Google+, the blog; and now the newsletter. Wherever you are, there's always a way to improve what you're doing.

This tip is from Josh Hewett's excellent 'Bulletproof Your Body' series. The 'right' way to fix up your back.

Over to Josh :

What happens when you sit all day (at a desk, watching TV, or while driving) is that certain muscles, ie: glutes, can become lengthened and weak while other muscles compensate and become tighter to take up the slack, ie: QL (lower back) and psoas (hip flexors). This can lead to all sorts of issues including back pain. Weak abdominal muscles is also a culprit.

So what can you do to restore muscular balance and function to get rid of that pain? The progressions I follow are very similar to what I outlined in my Fix Your Knees blog post:

1. If it's an acute injury see a medical professional and get assessed. Rest and ice.
2. Test your Active Range of Motion as comfort allows (avoid passive stretching).
3. Use Isometric Exercises to activate the weak muscle groups.
4. Once muscles start to "fire" better, you can add in some isolation exercises to target and strengthen those muscles.
5. Progress towards compound multi-joint exercises that incorporate those muscles.

Good stuff. Note that this is only a snippet from the full piece - swing by Josh' blog for the entire article. A great read.

Checking Out : Goodreads

Goodreads.

We took a look at Goodreads a little earlier in the year, for cataloguing and recommending books. On strength training, or anything else.

Chances are that when you're defining your goals for 2014 you're re-reading a few things (certainly the case here). Here's a peek at what's on my own fitness shelves; and I'm keen to add a few others to that list.

Any training-related books you'd recommend?

Rather than trying to explain how it works, here it is in action :

Good stuff Bret, looks great.

Insane In-Season Hockey Training.

We mentioned this one briefly last week, and we'll be posting a full review early in the new year. In the meantime though, a quick look at what it is :


In Gymchat 228 - In-Season Training for Hockey Conor Doherty outlined his approach to training for Ice Hockey, during the season itself. Very interesting discussion.

The Insane In-Season Hockey Training package is a detailed look at this area. Becoming stronger, faster and generally more powerful during the season. What to do, and when.

Full details shortly; if you're ready to get a head start though, swing by the official site. Dive in.

I'm constantly amazed at just how much my training is influenced by the people on this site. Whether you're looking for a new piece of equipment, an unusual exercise variation or just an idea of how others approach things, you'll enjoy these :

• The Future of Fitness : Predictions for 2014
  Scott Andrew Bird
  We've looked at some pretty incredible fitness-related technologies this year. Now it's time to peer a short distance into the future - here are a few of the things I'd expect to see in 2014.

  
  

• Looking At : Dec 22, 2013
  Scott Andrew Bird
  What's been going on this week? Quite a lot actually.

  
  

Over to you. I'd love to hear what you think : leave your comments on the above articles, and share them with your friends/colleagues/clients and so on.
NB : If you'd like to submit your own piece for Straight to the Bar, here's how.

Video : Plate Rim Fingertip Curls

Nice one Daniel.

Gymchats for 2013

Josh Hewett.

If you missed any of them - or just want to go back and check out a particular point again - you'll be pleased to know that the videos are all recorded and stored on Youtube. Here's the full list :


Dec 18, 2013 | Gymchat 229 - How to Prepare for a Powerlifting Competition (Josh Hewett and Ben McLaughlin)
Dec 11, 2013 | Gymchat 228 - In-Season Training for Hockey (Josh Hewett and Conor Doherty)
Dec 4, 2013 | Gymchat 227 - The Tempo Matrix (Josh Hewett and Karsten Jensen)
Nov 27, 2013 | Gymchat 226 - Advances in Strength & Power Development (Josh Hewett and Craig Bongelli)
Nov 20, 2013 | Gymchat 225 - How to Master the Inner Game (Josh Hewett and Jen Mulhall)
Nov 13, 2013 | Gymchat 224 - The Future of Fitness (Roundtable) (Josh Hewett, Chas Melichar, Chris Lutz, Karsten Jensen and Nassim Jebran)
Nov 11, 2013 | Gymchat 223 - Progressive Calisthenics (Josh Hewett and Al Kavadlo)
Nov 6, 2013 | Gymchat 222 - The Difference Between Exercise & Training (Why You Should TRAIN!) (Josh Hewett and Ryan Burgess)
Oct 30, 2013 | Gymchat 221 - The Paleo Approach to Health & Physique Transformation (Josh Hewett and Adam Farrah)
Oct 23, 2013 | Gymchat 220 - High Intensity Training : HIT (Josh Hewett and Chris Lutz)
Oct 16, 2013 | Gymchat 219 - Assessing Current Fitness Trends (Josh Hewett and Adam Klymkiw)
Oct 10, 2013 | Gymchat 218 - Alternative Approaches to Exercise Prescription (Josh Hewett and Matthew Palfrey)
Oct 9, 2013 | Gymchat 217 - Underground Strength Training (Josh Hewett and Zach Even-Esh)
Oct 8, 2013 | Gymchat 216 - Fat Loss Nutrition (Josh Hewett, Ryan Phillips and Rob Spencer)
Oct 2, 2013 | Gymchat 215 - The Health, Fitness, & Fat Loss Benefits of GARLIC (Josh Hewett and Kurtis Frank)
Sep 25, 2013 | Gymchat 214 - How to Create an Effective Supplement Stack (Josh Hewett and Paul Teixeira)
Sep 22, 2013 | Gymchat 213 (Roundtable) - How to get BIGGER and STRONGER (Josh Hewett, Suneet Sebastian, Louis Farone, Paul Marsland and Jason Paris)
Sep 19, 2013 | Gymchat 212 - How to Gain Muscle (Josh Hewett and Conor Kelly)
Sep 11, 2013 | Gymchat 211 - Training Approaches (Roundtable) (Josh Hewett, Adam Klymkiw, Jason Paris, Chris Lutz and Kurtis Frank)
Aug 14, 2013 | Gymchat 209 - Setting up a Home Gym ('Captain' Kirk Fontaine and Josh Hewett)
Jul 31, 2013 | Gymchat 207 - Body Transformation ('Captain' Kirk Fontaine and Jason Paris)
Jul 24, 2013 | Gymchat 206 - Sandbag Training ('Captain' Kirk Fontaine and Matt Palfrey)
Jul 17, 2013 | Gymchat 205 - Paleo Dieting ('Captain' Kirk Fontaine and Adam Farrah)
Jul 10, 2013 | Gymchat 204 - Training & Competing with Google Glass ('Captain' Kirk Fontaine and Chas Melichar)
Jul 4, 2013 | Gymchat 203 - Explaining Crossfit Principles ('Captain' Kirk Fontaine and Dai 'The Moose' Manuel)
Jun 29, 2013 | Gymchat 202 - Intermittent Fasting ('Captain' Kirk Fontaine and Josh Hewett)
Jun 22, 2013 | Gymchat 201 - Hormonal Optimisation ('Captain' Kirk Fontaine and Josh Hewett)
Mar 20, 2013 | Gymchat 200 - Beginning Powerlifting (Chadwick Haines)
Mar 8, 2013 | Gymchat 199 - Stretching & Warming Up (Conor Doherty)
Feb 27, 2013 | Gymchat 198 - The Science of Muscle Growth (Kevin Stock)
Jan 9, 2013 | Gymchat 195 - Fitness Over 40 (Kevin Redman)

NB : the links above are for the Gymchats we did in 2013. For the ones we did prior to that, check out the Complete List of Gymchats over on the main site. They're all there.

And yes, we'll be taking a couple of weeks off over the holidays; beginning again in early 2014. Full details shortly.

Ben McLaughlin.

If you missed the live stream (or just want to go over a particular point again), you can watch the entire video here.

Tip of the Week: Knee Rehabilitation Progression

Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via Twitter, Google+, the blog; and now the newsletter. Wherever you are, there's always a way to improve what you're doing.

This tip is from Josh Hewett's excellent 'Bulletproof Your Body' series. The 'right' way to fix your knees after surgery.

Over to Josh :

Good stuff. Note that this is only a snippet from the full piece - swing by Josh' blog for the entire article. A great read.

Checking Out : Insane In-Season Hockey Training

Insane In-Season Hockey Training.

We mentioned this one briefly last week, and we'll be posting a full review on the blog early in the new year. In the meantime though, a quick look at what it is :


In Gymchat 228 - In-Season Training for Hockey Conor Doherty outlined his approach to training for Ice Hockey, during the season itself. Very interesting discussion.

The Insane In-Season Hockey Training package is a detailed look at this area. Becoming stronger, faster and generally more powerful during the season. What to do, and when.

Full details shortly; if you're ready to get a head start though, swing by the official site. Dive in.

Rather than trying to explain how it works, here it is in action :

Good stuff Bret, looks great.

Batou (Ghost in the Shell).

• Many examples of ordinary workout clothing will become 'smart' - heart monitors, GPS tracking and so on.
• Equipment in several catalogues (for gym equipment, workout clothing, nutritional supplements etc) will be computer generated (photo-realistic in most cases).
• 3D printing of some types of workout equipment possible.
• Gradual increase in emphasis worldwide on cycling. Cycle lanes, bike sharing schemes, cycling for general fitness and so on.
• Gradual shift in health-related advertisements from 'not being sick' to 'actively being healthy'.
• Increased use of Graphene in medical research.
• The beginning of an emphasis on location-aware technologies in the gym - both at home, and commercial operations. Things like Apple's iBeacon.
• Greater emphasis on wearable technologies, particularly devices which use things like Apple's M7 processor. Think a much more powerful 'Fuelband'.
• Sensors in many more things (in and out of the gym) - some which make more sense than others. It'll probably be like digital clocks in the 1980s - everywhere, but not really useful until many years later.

And a few things I'd love to see :

Of course, these are just a few of the things that I'd expect to see personally. I'd love to hear your own thoughts - anything you'd add or change?

Ben McLaughlin.

If you're about to compete - whether you're new to the training world or just beginning the journey - how do you prepare? What should you expect, how early do you need to start training specifically for the meet, and what should you be doing?


Taking us through the entire process is Powerlifter Ben McLaughlin, joined by Personal Trainer Josh Hewett. If you've got questions/comments for Ben or Josh, just swing by the event page for this Gymchat (during the discussion itself). Details below.

Details -

Who : Powerlifter Ben McLaughlin and Josh Hewett
Topic : How to Prepare for a Powerlifting Competition
When : Wednesday Dec 18, 8pm EDT (the Event page shows what time that is in your local timezone)
How : Watch the live stream, and ask questions, directly on the Event page. We'll also post the full video shortly after the Gymchat.

See you there.

I'm constantly amazed at just how much my training is influenced by the people on this site. Whether you're looking for a new piece of equipment, an unusual exercise variation or just an idea of how others approach things, you'll enjoy these :

• Gem From The Vault : Making Your Own Gym Equipment - DIY Grip Tools
  Scott Andrew Bird
  Ready for a little DIY? Perfect.

  
  

• Looking At : Dec 15, 2013
  Scott Andrew Bird
  What's been going on this week? Quite a lot actually.

  
  

Over to you. I'd love to hear what you think : leave your comments on the above articles, and share them with your friends/colleagues/clients and so on.
NB : If you'd like to submit your own piece for Straight to the Bar, here's how.

Video : GripMonsters Challenges - 2 x Plates Timed Holds

Nice one Juha.

Gymchat 229 - How to Prepare for a Powerlifting Competition (Ben McLaughlin)

Ben McLaughlin.

If you're about to compete - whether you're new to the training world or just beginning the journey - how do you prepare? What should you expect, how early do you need to start training specifically for the meet, and what should you be doing?


Taking us through the entire process is Powerlifter Ben McLaughlin, joined by Personal Trainer Josh Hewett. If you've got questions/comments for Ben or Josh, just swing by the event page for this Gymchat (during the discussion itself). Details below.

Details -

Who : Powerlifter Ben McLaughlin and Josh Hewett
Topic : How to Prepare for a Powerlifting Competition
When : Wednesday Dec 18, 8pm EDT (the Event page shows what time that is in your local timezone)
How : Watch the live stream, and ask questions, directly on the Event page. We'll also post the full video shortly after the Gymchat.

See you there.

Conor Doherty.

If you missed the live stream (or just want to go over a particular point again), you can watch the entire video here.

NB : The training package that Conor mentioned in the chat will be available shortly (and yes, we'll be reviewing it over on the main site). In the meantime, a few details.

Josh Hewett.

And if you'd like to suggest a future topic or take part in one of the upcoming Gymchats, just drop Josh a line. We'd love to hear from you.

Tip of the Week: Fix Your Feet

Each week we publish a number of tips and techniques via Twitter, Google+, the blog; and now the newsletter. Wherever you are, there's always a way to improve what you're doing.

This tip is from Josh Hewett's excellent 'Bulletproof Your Body' series. The real benefits of including your feet in your training.

Over to Josh :

You need to gradually strengthen your feet and slowly introduce them to greater range of motion. Walking barefoot on soft sand or grass is a great way to start... plus it feels good! If you have access to a beach or a well manicured lawn, slowly progress from walking barefoot for a few minutes at a time and working up to a longer duration, before introducing any more challenging barefoot activities.

For walking on solid surfaces such as concrete, I suggest you wear appropriate footwear that will provide minimal support while still allowing for greater natural movement of your feet.

Good stuff. Note that this is only a snippet from the full piece - swing by Josh' blog for the entire article [.pdf]. A great read.

Re-Investigating : MILO

I'm also keen to hear what everyone else is reading, in the way of training-related publications. What's on your own list?

Rather than trying to explain how it works, here it is in action :

Good stuff Bret, looks great.